The APS College of Organisational Psychologists

The APS College of Organisational Psychologists

The College of Organisational Psychologists (COP) is a specialty group within the Australian Psychological Society for those who practise, research, teach and/or simply have an interest in organisational psychology.

What is organisational psychology?

Organisational psychology is the science of people at work. Organisational psychologists specialise in analysing organisations and their people, and devising strategies to recruit, motivate, develop, change and inspire.

Like other psychologists, organisational psychologists draw on their knowledge of theories of cognition, motivation, learning, social psychology and other psychological principles to explain, predict and positively influence people’s behaviour. Psychological skills in assessment, analysis and intervention development are applied in the context of maximising the performance and potential of people and their organisations.

Organisational psychologists frequently work at one or more of three levels in an organisation:

1. Individual (for example, assessing the abilities and competencies of individuals to meet the demands of specific roles);

2. Group (for example, assessing team functioning and developing strategies to improve performance, such as improving communication and decision-making or making changes to team structure and function); and

3. Organisation (for example, measuring employee attitudes to the organisation and developing interventions to improve performance, productivity and employee wellbeing).

Organisational psychologists regularly have to address the wrong assumption that organisational psychology is the application of clinical psychology within organisations (it is a surprise to many that organisational psychologists tend to have little or no clinical training). Rather, organisational psychologists have specialised skills and knowledge spanning a range of areas:

· Workforce planning and role definition

· Recruitment and selection

· Learning and development

· Leadership and talent management

· Coaching, mentoring and career development

· Change management

· Organisational development

· Measuring employee opinions and other workplace research

· Performance management

· Wellbeing, stress and work-life balance

· Occupational health and safety

· Human resources program evaluation

· Consumer behaviour and marketing

· Workplace advisory services and advocacy

Changes within the College

In the last 12 months the College has become increasingly active, beginning a transformation program to improve the way the College supports and represents organisational psychologists and organisational psychology in Australia. Transformation is occurring within five key streams:

1. Growth: We attract members by being a thriving, forward thinking, and professional community;

2. Reach: We are a globally networked practitioner and academic profession;

3. Influence: We influence business, media and the government through our strong brand and value proposition;

4. Innovation: We strive to provide great services to our members, and we are disciplined and professional in our administration and governance of COP; and

5. Capability: We support our member’s growth through world class continuing professional development.

Central to the transformation is the shift from being mainly State-based in focus and operation to a more nationally coordinated approach that aims to benefit members in all States.

Member involvement makes the difference

A three-year business plan for the College sets out the goals for 2008-2010 in the five areas outlined above. In the context of that plan, 18 strategic initiatives were identified for this year. All members of the College were invited to select an initiative or two that was of most interest to them and volunteer some time accordingly. As a result, there are now more than 60 members active in transforming the College, which is double the number who were active in 2007. Initiative team members have brought fresh energy and enthusiasm to the tasks at hand, and significant progress has been made.

A number of priority activities for the College in 2008 are now close to completion now. The new ‘elevator pitch’ for organisational psychology was decided on a member vote (the pitch is shown in italics above). A bi-monthly eNewsletter called REACH keeps College members in the loop about news and issues. A quarterly eMagazine called Illuminations has been developed for distribution to the wider business community on subscription (view the first issue at: www.groups.psychology.org.au/cop/resources/publications/). The first issue of the College’s peer-reviewed online journal Australian and New Zealand Journal of Organisational Psychology was launched at this year’s APS Annual Conference. Plans for CPD are also reaching fruition following discussions with several universities about potential partnering in this area.

The College of Organisational Psychologists is gradually changing and improving the way it operates, and working hard to both lift the profile of organisational psychology and increase the value of membership for College members.

Joining the College

If you have a background in organisational psychology, or even just a passing interest, the College of Organisational Psychologists invites you to join. See the ‘How to join’ section of the website (www.groups.psychology.org.au/cop/join/) for application forms, or contact the National Membership Secretary, Kathryn von Treuer, to discuss your circumstances (phone: 0409 562 311, email: ).

By Gina McCredie MAPS

Chair, APS College of Organisational Psychologists

As published in the APS InPsych magazine, October 2008